What we have seen so far with the scorecard of Governor Rochas Okorocha is less desirable. Therefore, as many people are warming up for the governorship of Imo State, the issue of who carries the peoples mandate for the Imo Government House becomes very crucial, especially now.
The decisive issue here is electing the most credible candidate to run the affairs of our state in the next four years. It is in this regard that we must clear our eyes and do the right thing for the good of our state. Since no one disputes the continuing need for an effective and people-oriented leadership in the state, it becomes critical for us to evaluate the effectiveness and readiness of all the candidates interested in the Governorship of our dear state in 2015. Besides, the electorate on their part needs to have the facts and understand the choices facing them in this 2015 election. Putting everything in perspective, Imo state citizens should without an iota of doubt consider Chief Ikedi Ohakim for election when they go to the poll in 2015. After all, when the state found itself in a state of near anarchy some years ago, the appearance of Governor Ohakim on the stage helped resolve the predicament. Now that the initial hurdles are cleared, Ohakim needs this time to fully embark on the part of progressive era that he envisaged for the state. We ought to help him with the time of accomplishing fully on the dream of reinventing Imo State by bringing jobs, the example of which we saw in the 10,000 graduate job he created for the unemployed in the state; to keep alive the program of investing, and cleaning up the streets of our state as well as getting tough on crime, and addressing solutions of improving our schools and that of restoring trust and pride in our the state. No other candidate has the structure, executive leadership and wherewithal to defeat Rochas Okorocha other than Ohakim. This is not the time for on the job training for any candidate. The State is suffering by electing Okorocha ho lacked the leadership experience. PDP should not field anyone who lacks the experience. Ohakim is the only hope for PDP to regain Imo State.
Again, by all standards, Ikedi Ohakim has demonstrated that he is a leader who shares our values and hears our concerns. His administration met the difficult challenges facing the state. He has remained a steady hand of calm and good judgments with fairness and compassion; actions that make real difference in people’s lives and protect the values we all hold dear in the state. He is a man of perseverance with an inner strength. We admired his ambition for the state. We are encouraged by his dream and we believe in his big future, for our dear state.
Some have argued in favor of continuity and stability, others prefer change and new direction. Still when these are put together, with value, stability and change as key matrix for electing the next governor of Imo State, Ohakim again stands above other candidates in the race. He is an embodiment of continuity, stability and the face of change and new direction. Many of us who have been watching, listening and evaluating the top three PDP candidates warming up for the governorship primary contest have come to the honest conclusion that Chief Ikedi Ohakim is the best of them all and stands for everything that will make Imo better. It is thus in the best interest of the state for all Imo voters to vote for him. As it is, Ohakim knows where the shoe pinches Imo people and is putting smiles on the faces of the people. Besides he is calm, calculative, meticulous and altruistic that even in the face of scores of litigations and smear campaign against him, he was neither deterred nor derailed from pursuing the vision in the best interest of the party.
The state needs a leader who can work well with the President and gets whatever we need from the center. He is especially good at making right choices with dogged and tough calls whenever the need arises. A man who believes that the ultimate goal of public service is to meet the need of the ordinary people, a man who sees the family as the ultimate legacy, a man who understands that tough times require that we do the right thing for the common good; now therefore, we need to partner with all well-meaning citizens in the state to return Chief Ikedi Ohakim to the government house and there will be no limit to what we can accomplish together. He has learnt a lot, he has done a lot and he can still do more.
We know that Ohakim is a very nice and engaging person, pleasant, and friendly; a man committed to play well his part in reflecting the views of Imo populace in taking on hard issues. I enjoin all to return Ohakim to power because with him, we are on the right path. There are lots of reasons to elect a proven leader and not take a chance on moving backward with newcomers. Gov. Ohakim’s extensive experience in public and private sectors of our economy stands him out above others in the race. He has provided a focused, purposeful, proactive, energetic and above all God fearing leadership; servicing the people by effectively and efficiently harnessing the vast resources available to Imo and committing same to meaningful growth and development.
As governor, Ohakim consistently made strategic, cost-effective investments in education that will allow our kids to compete in tomorrow’s economy. He passionately believes education is a powerful economic development tool. An educated work force attracts businesses that can grow and sustain the state economy. There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. By returning Ikedi Ohakim to office, Imo will continue to build a better future for her children’s education; besides renovating and rehabilitating our educational facilities, he did hand over some schools to their original owners, thus empowering parental rights to chose where their kids get the best possible education. We need to retain the governor for the continuing enhancement of our existing clean and green initiatives; he has effectively combated the menace of armed robbery and kidnapping in the state and aggressively improved transportation and related infrastructure. Ohakim’s administration witnessed more job creation and development in health care delivery. Rural and urban life will continue to be vigorously reinvigorated for the good of all in the state via improvements in road construction and rehabilitation, provision of water supply, electricity and banking with Ohakim in office.
Imo people appreciate Ohakim’s leadership style and need to pay him back by returning him to office in 2015 partly because of the laudable projects initiated and completed during his administration and much more he wanted to do. Every available index of assessment points to the fact that Ikedi Ohakim scored far beyond the benchmarks and has performed creditably well to merit a return to office. As the erudite Professor Ofonagoro has clearly said, ‘there is no need to change a winning team when there is opportunity for continuity’ and I agree with him. What the state and PDP need to do now is to support the leadership of Ohakim—continuing on Ohakim’s leadership with their will guarantee PDP of Imo State as well as the consolidation of many of the laudable projects Ohakim envisioned. By all standards, Ikedi Ohakim’s achievements in office are highly commendable and we have the responsibility of voting en-masse to retain him for another term. The reality is Ohakim is the best candidate for Imo State at this time. Ohakim brings innovative leadership, social transformation, economic boom, spiritual growth and general wellbeing of all in the state. Imo people cannot afford less!
Mathias Mgbeafulu, an educator, author, and freelance writer on social issues writes from Detroit, Michigan USA.